In February next year, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects will publish Significant Ships of 2019, compiled by the editors of The Naval Architect and continuing the successful series of publications first launched in 1990.

As environmental pressures escalate, heat recovery systems are gaining popularity as a promising efficiency solution. A new compact system developed by Germany-based Orcan Energy offers savings for all ship sizes.

For some time, the idea of using hydrogen and fuel cells to power ship fleets was viewed as a fanciful trend. As other green technologies picked up momentum, hydrogen was cast aside. But in the past couple of years, the abundant element has become a mainstream enterprise.

For many years now, MacGregor has been one of the stalwarts of marine equipment; it’s estimated that every second vessel in the global fleet has some form of its cargo load handling solutions, lashing systems or hatch covers onboard.

Japan, as is widely documented, has an ageing population and one of the sectors where it’s being felt most acutely is maritime. Data published in 2015 revealed that 56% of Japan’s 20,000 seafarers involved in domestic cargo shipping were aged 50 or over.

The UK Ministry of Defence is examining the concept of an adapted commercial hull that would have flexibility designed-in to it that would be able to accept different ‘mission fits’ to fulfil a role as a forward sea base.

A 15-year delay to submarine disposal risks costing taxpayers £30 million every year, according to a the second of two recent reports on the defueling and dismantling of the UK Royal Navy’s retired nuclear-powered submarines.

With IMO’s 2020 sulphur cap now just six months away shipowners are urgently addressing the needs for achieving compliance. But for those intending to do so by using low-sulphur fuels there is the additional headache of the fluctuating availability, stability and quality of these fuels.